BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3121

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Juvenile Justice & Family Issues

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerned observers assert the need for more adequate measures to ensure parties in conflict or divorce abide by a judge's temporary orders and standing orders, including orders intended to prevent the parties from selling assets, hiding or spending money, incurring unnecessary debt, cancelling credit cards, changing beneficiaries of life insurance policies, altering utilities, or otherwise harassing the other party. H.B. 3121 seeks to grant the court the authority to better enforce these types of orders.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3121 amends the Family Code to remove a specification limiting the applicability of an authorization for a motion for enforcement to be filed to enforce certain orders to a final order for conservatorship, child support, possession of or access to a child, or other provisions of a final order and to instead authorize a motion for enforcement to be filed for any provision of a temporary or final order rendered in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. The bill extends the types of orders a court is authorized to enforce by contempt from a final order for possession of and access to a child to any provision of a temporary or final order, other than an order for child support. The bill extends a court's authority to enforce a final order for child support by certain means to the enforcement of a temporary order.

 H.B. 3121 includes a hearing on a motion for enforcement of any provision of a final order rendered against a party who has already appeared in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship and enforcement of any provision of a temporary order among the pleadings for which notice is required to be given to the respondent by personal service of a copy of the motion and notice not later than the 10th day before the date of the hearing. The bill clarifies that the provision governing a hearing on a motion for enforcement that is joined with another claim applies to a motion for enforcement of a final order, other than a final order rendered against a party who has already appeared in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.